Unexpected Feelings
by Sarita1248
Summary: Claire is in love, which gives Alex something to think about. Will they ever get together or is Tom the One for Claire?
1. Unexpected Feelings Part One

_Please review and tell me what you think! _

_The story is mainly Claire, Tom (who I've made up) and Alex but in later chapters there will be more Nick and Tess._

_**Unexpected Feelings Part One**_

Claire had finally given into Tess and agreed to go to the city for a couple of days. Tess had been trying to convince her for weeks that it was going to be fun. So she had agreed but now she couldn't for the life of it remember why she had. But there was no way of backing out of it; they were already on their way. Tess was singing, or more like screaming along to the radio. Even though she didn't really want to go, Tess's enthusiasm was catching and she figured she would just make the best of this trip. So she screamed along with the radio as well.

When they had finally arrived at the hotel Claire let herself drop on the bed. But Tess was so exited she decided they had to go out now. "But, Tess I'm beat! I need to sleep" and she pulled the pillow over her face. "Once we're dancing you'll forget all about being tired" Tess said and dragged Claire of the bed into the bathroom. After about an hour they both looked "pretty hot" as Tess put it and they went out. The streets were filled with people looking for a good time and Claire felt totally out of place, what was she doing here? Reluctantly she followed Tess into a club, where Tess immediately pulled her onto the dance floor. To her surprise she saw a familiar face at the bar. This was her chance to get of the dance floor and she signaled to Tess where she was going. As she walked towards the man she still wasn't quite sure where she knew him from but he put his hand up as he saw her and smiled. That would mean he recognized her also, she thought. When she reached him she finally saw who it was, Tom! They had had a thing for about a week when they were young. She hadn't seen him for ages. This night might end up pretty good after all, she thought looking at the handsome man in front of her. "Claire McLeod! I never would have thought of seeing you here!" he said and lightly touched her arm. "Well, it wasn't really my choice to be here, my sister dragged me here" she said as she pointed out Tess at the dance floor. He laughed; she was still the Claire he had known all those years ago. "It must be like fifteen years ago since we last saw each other" "yeah, about" she said. They ordered some drinks and had a great time reliving old times. As he went to get some more drinks, Tess stumbled towards Claire "Maybe you were right, we do need some sleep" she said but Claire glanced in the direction of Tom and told Tess to go on ahead she wanted to stick around a little longer. Tess couldn't believe her ears until Tom came up to them and said "You must be Tess" with a gorgeous smile. She got the picture now and laughed as Claire introduced her to Tom and told her he was an old friend. She whispered to Claire "have fun" and she went back to the hotel.

When Tess woke the next morning there was no sign of Claire, she wasn't quite sure if she should be worried or happy that her sister had finally let loose. As the worry started to sink in after a while, Claire sneaked in trying not to wake Tess but when she saw she was already awake she smiled a bit guiltily. "I assume you had a good time?" Tess asked barely able to keep in her laughter. "Pretty good!" Claire said and let herself fall down on the bed saying "I need some sleep" They both laughed.


	2. Unexpected Feelings Part Two

_Unexpected Feelings Part Two_

Claire had decided to stay in the city for a couple of days longer, much to the surprise of Tess. She knew Claire was pretty infatuated with Tom but that she would actually postpone going back to Drovers? She must be really serious about this guy, she thought. As she said goodbye to Claire she was happy her sister was finally having some luck in the love department.

As Tess got home, everyone was quite surprised to see she was alone. "Where is Claire?" was the question on everyone's lips. "Actually she met a really cute guy and decided to stay a little longer." Tess said. They all looked at her in disbelieve but she nodded her head "Really!" The rest of the day they were all bugging her with questions about Tom, they wanted details but Tess wasn't sure if Claire would be too happy about her blabbing everything, she was kind of sorry she had told them about him in the first place. But she couldn't turn back now, as the girls were begging for more info Nick and Alex came in. "What's all the fuss about?" Alex asked. "Claire has a lover in the city!" Jodi blabbed. Alex looked a bit annoyed "Where is she anyway, she'd be back today" "Well, she couldn't tear herself away" They all laughed except for Alex who went outside and slammed the door on his way out, leaving them all wondering what was going on. He didn't really know why he was angry. But he was kicking the wall anyway when Nick came out. "What's your problem?" Nick asked "We had things to discuss, she can't just walk away from her responsibilities!" "Don't be such an asshole, I think we should be happy that she's find someone. If you believe Tess he's quite a catch" "Yeah, yeah" Alex said as he got into the car and left. "Alex!" Nick yelled, but it was too late he was long gone. "Damn, how am I going to get home now?" he sighed angry at his brother's temper. He went back into the house. "You're back soon" Tess said "Actually I never left, Alex just sped of without me!" "Really? Why?" "Don't know, something about an appointment he and Claire were supposed to have today" "Strange, but I can drive you to Wilgul that will give me the opportunity to have a look at the crops" Tess offered.

Meanwhile Claire was still having a great time. As she woke up next to Tom she didn't want to leave ever. She was laying there next to him looking at him and she thought he's so gorgeous. He woke up and looked at her all sleepy eyed. "Hey beautiful" he said as he moved closer to her and kissed her "hey" and she kissed him back. As they lay there so close to each other she felt she had to bring up that she had to go back home soon even though she didn't really want to. "You know I'll have to go home one of these days?" she said. "Ssshh" he said "I don't want to think about that" and he silenced her by kissing her. His kisses made her forget about everything and she gave into him, all she could think now was "damn, he's a good kisser" They made love until the sun was already high up in the sky when they were interrupted by her phone. She tumbled out of the bed to get hold of it and saw it was Tess. "Hey Tess!" "Hey to you! Are you alright? You sound a bit exhausted" Tess said and laughed. "I'm fine, what's up?" "I was just wondering when you were planning on coming home, Nick just told me Alex has to go into the city on Tuesday so he could pick you up." "Ehm, yes that will be ok" Claire said absent mindedly "I'll give you the address" As she named the address she looked at Tom who had gotten up and was standing under the shower now. She wondered if this was the end of them. In the last few days she had really began to think she loved him but she never had been very good at expressing her feelings. As she hung up the phone, she thought she might as well make the best of it for the time being and she joined him in the shower.

Tess rang Wilgul to ask Alex to pick up Claire on Tuesday. To her surprise he didn't seem to enthusiastic to do so but he agreed anyway. Tess wondered what his problem could be but when she asked Nick later that day he said Alex was fine as far as he knew. She didn't understand anything about those brothers, they didn't tell each other anything she thought.

When Alex finished his business he drove to the address Tess had given him, it was a pretty upscale neighborhood. As he reached the house he rang the doorbell but no one answered. After checking the address again he decided to go round the back. As he walked into the garden he called out "Anyone home?" Still no answer but than he saw Claire in the arms of some sleazy guy! "Claire!" he said loud. Claire pulled herself from Tom's embrace and looked up. "Alex!" she said "You're early…" she seemed disappointed. If this is all the thanks I get Alex thought but instead he said "we have along way to go" "yeah sure, Alex this is Tom, Tom, Alex" she introduced them before going inside to get her things. An icy silence hang between the two men. While Tom tried his best to make conversation Alex only answered yes or no. When Claire came out again and kissed Tom goodbye he walked to the car straight away without saying goodbye or anything. "Is he always this polite?" Tom asked "Don't know what's with him today" she said "Just hope he turns around, we have a long way to go" They kissed "Call me when you get there" he said as he walked her to the car. "I will" she said and got in. This was going to be a long drive she thought as she looked at Alex's face, still grumpy. "What's wrong?" she said "Nothing!" and for along while they didn't say anything.


	3. Unexpected Feelings Part Three

Claire was trying to think what could be Alex's problem. But she didn't have a clue, so she turned on the radio to avoid the silence. Alex realized this was stupid, they could always talk to each other and he didn't even know why he was so cranky. He tried to act as natural as possible when he asked her about her time in city. It broke the silence to Claire's relieve and she told him what she'd been up to, although she had been everywhere with Tom she tried to avoid his name, somehow she felt Alex didn't like him much. After a while they were laughing and having fun as it had always been between them. But Alex still felt this rotten feeling of jealousy, even though he tried to tuck it away.

As night time fell his eyes kept dwelling to the left of him where Claire was sound asleep. He didn't understand what he was feeling. She was just a friend, a mate. Why was he feeling all jealous all of a sudden? He'd never thought of her that way but ever since that Tom had entered the scene all he could do was think about her. Anyway that Tom was out of the picture now he thought, she'll forget about him in a jiffy. Long distance relationships never work. He was sure his jealousy was irrational, the moment she'd be available again all this weird feelings would disappear and she'd be back to being his mate. This kind of put his mind at ease as he was driving home.

It was after midnight when they arrived at Drovers. Claire was still asleep, god she's beautiful he thought and he immediately tried to stop himself from thinking that. As he got out of the car he went to open her door but she still didn't wake up. He leant in over her wanting to shake her softly to wake her but when he put his hands on her shoulders she opened her eyes half and he couldn't resist the urge to kiss her. As his lips softly touched hers, she regained consciousness fully and confused she pushed him away. "What are you doing?" "Ehm, nothing, sorry" he said as she got out he had already gotten in to the car again en drove off. Leaving Claire standing there wondering what had just happened.

The next couple of days Alex tried to avoid Claire and she noticed and she wasn't the only one, everyone noticed. After Alex hadn't been to Drovers for days and Claire hadn't told Tess why, Tess decided to just ask her but she pretended not to have a clue what this was all about. She just wanted to forget about this whole misunderstanding, or whatever it was. There was a get together next day at Killarney and she decided she should go, if only to clear the air between them. She didn't want to loose her best friend over nothing.

Alex had been angry at himself ever since he kissed her. He was afraid their friendship was ruined because he hadn't been able to control himself. He hadn't gone over to Drovers all week just to avoid having to explain anything. Now he was wondering if he should have just gone over right away as if nothing had happened but it was too late now, what's done is done he told himself and went back to work hoping that it would resolve itself. When Nick told him later that day that everyone was going over to Killarney the next day for some sort of party, he hoped he could set everything straight.

As Claire and Tess were getting ready to go over to Killarney they heard a car pull up the driveway and someone rang the doorbell. Claire went out the backdoor and when she came round the house she saw Tom, her hearts kipped a beat as she looked at him. She'd missed him and had been afraid that it had just been a one time thing, but if he had driven all the way out here to be with here, he must have missed her too she thought. He heard footsteps and turned around but before he could do anything she already had her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I take it you're happy to see me?" he asked before kissing her back. "Yup!" "Claire!" she heard Tess call for her "We have to go now, or we'll be late………Oh hi Tom" she said as she saw her sister and Tom standing in front of the house. "Oh right" Claire said disappointed, she didn't want to go now he was here. But she knew she couldn't get out of it and she decided he should just come with. "Sure, I'll come, just give me directions and I'll come after you once I've freshened up". She quickly showed him around the house, gave him directions to Killarney and told him to hurry up. "I promise we'll leave early" she said giving him the look. "I will hold you to that" he whispered in her ear before stepping into the shower.

When Claire and Tess arrived at Killarney, it was already pretty busy; it seemed as if the entire district had been invited for this "little" get together. As Tess went to Nick who was standing by the barbecue with Alex, Claire walked after her without knowing where she was going, her thoughts were miles away. Actually only a couple of miles, they were at Drovers with Tom in the shower. "Claire?" She heard Nicks voice. "Yeah what's up?" she said as she awoke from her thoughts "Well you have been standing here for 10 minutes without saying a word" "Oh sorry, I was just thinking" She looked away absentmindedly. Alex thought she was acting strange because of what had happened, but from the moment Tom had shown up she hadn't thought about that. As he tried to have a conversation with her she seemed distant and she really wasn't hearing a word he was saying. "Don't mind her Alex," Tess said "She's just a bit distracted 'cause Tom came by" As she heard his name Claire looked up, Tess laughed "See, I told you" Nick laughed as well but Alex was right back to being in the bad mood he had been in all week. "He was supposed to be a long distance fling, he wasn't supposed to show up here" he thought and walked off. Nick and Tess looked at each other totally oblivious and Claire didn't even notice she had just seen Toms car coming down the road and walked towards it.


	4. Unexpected Feelings Part Four

**Please review

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**The evening continued while Claire quickly introduced Tom to everyone, eager to get back to Drovers. Meanwhile Alex had picked up a girl but he just couldn't help looking over at Claire every few minutes, he realized he really did love her and not just as a mate. The girl was getting a bit sick of it "I'm right here, Alex! What's up with you?" "Huh? What?" "Stuff it!" she said and walked of. Now he got angry with himself, but he didn't go after her. He decided to go home. As he walked towards his car, he saw Claire and Tom approaching him. He tried to walk faster but she called out for him, so he turned around and tried to smile "What's up Claire?" Although he had tried to sound normal it came out wrong, impatient and a little angry. She suddenly remembered their kiss and awkwardness filled the air between them. After staring at each other for a while, she snapped out of it "Ehm, we're going home, I just wanted to say g'night" "I'm going too, see you later" he said and walked away. Tom looked at Claire trying to figure out what had just happened he had felt the tension between them. But she just took hold of his hand and they got into the car. As she watched Alex drive off she wondered if their friendship would ever be the same again. She felt sick and worried. While driving to Drovers Tom noticed her silence and he let her be. At Drovers they sat on the porch together when he asked her what was wrong. She looked at him and tried to smile but it was too hard. "I'm afraid I'm loosing my best friend" she said and she felt some tears creep into her eyes. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. "I'm sure it'll be fine" he said as he held her in his arms. She looked up at him and they kissed a long deep kiss. "Thank you" she said resting her head on his shoulder. Together they looked out over the land until Claire fell asleep and Tom carried her up the stairs to her room.

Somewhere between night and morning she awoke and she couldn't get back to sleep. She thought about Alex, how they'd always been so close and now everything had changed. She hated it, she knew she couldn't be happy without his friendship. She stepped out of bed and put some clothes on before she softly kissed Tom and went downstairs. She didn't know where she was going to go but she couldn't sleep anyway and maybe a night time ride would help her figure things out. After a while she ended up at Wilgul and although she knew it was the middle of the night she had to talk to Alex, clear things up. This was as good a time as any. She didn't want to wake Nick so she just went in and as she wanted to walk to Alex's room she saw there was no need to; he was in the kitchen staring out of the window, drinking a glass of milk. "Hey" she whispered. He turned around surprised to hear her voice. "Hey" he whispered back. She sat down next to him and after staring out of the window for a while she said "I don't want to loose you Alex…" He looked at her trying to figure out what she meant, what she felt. But she continued "You're my best friend, you've always been my best friend and that should never change" Disappointment hit him hard but he knew he didn't want to loose her either even if that meant they would never be anything more than friends. "I know" he said and they hugged.

For quite awhile they sat in that kitchen reminiscing childhood memories, laughing. It had been along time since they had done this. They had always just had that past together but had never talked about it much but now one story after another came to life. When they saw the sun come creeping over the hill Claire knew she had to go, even though she had wanted this night to last so much longer. Alex walked her out and as she sat on her horse he took hold of her hand and said "I'm glad you came over" "Me too" she said and she rode off. Alex whispered to himself, if only to hear the words "I love you, Claire" and he stood outside for some time before going in to finally get some sleep, hoping Nick would sleep in too.

When Claire arrived at Drovers it was still early, she felt happy and went upstairs to her room. Tom was still asleep and she tried to get into the bed silently but he half awoke as he felt her cold feet. He put his arms around her and kissed her "Where did you go?" "Couldn't sleep, went out to clear my head" she answered. "I think you need some warming up" he smiled "I think you're right" she said as she giggled. His hands touched her skin and his lips caressed hers as their clothes ended up on the floor.

Afterwards as she lay in his arms with her head resting on his chest she asked him how long he was staying for. Since he had arrived the other day they hadn't really had the chance to have a normal conversation. She really wanted to know what his plans were. "For however long you want me too" he jokingly said. "Hmmm, I'll have to think about that" she got on top of him and looked at him, his fingers followed the shape of her face before he drew her closer to him and kissed her.

When they woke up it was already late. "I guess we should get up" she said with a sigh. "I thought you were the boss here" he said and laughed. "Well, I am but that doesn't mean I don't have to do any work" she looked at him and laughed as well. As she got out of the bed she dragged him with her and after a cozy shower they went downstairs. There was nobody to be found, everyone was already at work. They had some breakfast and afterwards Claire showed Tom around the property on horseback. Claire tried not to laugh as he uncomfortably got on the horse but once he was on the horse she couldn't hold it in any longer. She hadn't seen anyone ever ride that bad. "Why are you laughing?" he asked pretending to be hurt. "Sorry, I can't help myself" she said doubling up with laughter. As she looked up at him her eyes were filled with tears from laughing so hard. "Ok, ok so I'm a total cluts on horseback" he said and smiled "are you gonna dump me now?" "Nah, I think you'll be alright after some private lessons" she smiled and leaned over to him to kiss him. They couldn't go far because of his clumsiness but he was still impressed with the land and he told her how beautiful he thought it was. Before he hadn't really understood what Drovers meant to her, but now he came to understand that it wasn't just a job for her, it was her life and he would never be able to get her to move to the city to be with him. He decided not to think about the future for the time being.

A little before noon they rode back to the homestead, Claire knew she was going to have to hear about her sleeping in forever, she didn't want to take the whole day of. As the girls dropped in one by one they looked at her meaningful. And everyone had great fun, over lunch they were all laughing and telling Tom the goss about Claire of course. In return he told them about when he and Claire had a thing at boarding school. When they all went back to work Tom went with to help with the mustering or at least look at the mustering, since he had no experience whatsoever with farm work. But Claire didn't mind, it was fun showing him the ropes. Letting him see what she did for a living just like he had shown her around the city. Towards the end of the day Alex came by as he saw Claire and Tom goofing around he felt hurt and he almost rode off again but he had known that this was how it was going to be like and had promised her they'd be mates. So he swallowed his pain and went to greet them, he even acted civil to Tom and Claire greeted him with a smile. Now she had the man she loved and her best friend with her and she really, really wanted them to get along. As Alex saw that Tom wasn't perfect after all, seeing he couldn't ride he felt better. He figured that since Tom wasn't cut out to be a farmer and Claire would never leave Drovers it wouldn't take long for them to break it off. This set his mind at ease and gave him some hope as they all went back to Drovers for diner.


End file.
